They say light travels faster than sound.
Lightning is just electrons, right?
Then why are both electrons and photons traveling at the same speed when thunder storms occur?
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1$\begingroup$ Who said that? Electrons can never reach speed of photons. For that they must be massless which they are not. $\endgroup$– Gurbir SinghCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 15:49
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$\begingroup$ Yes but during lightning we see a light that strikes the earth.That lightning is electrons ryt?? .It comes along with the photon.Iam sry it is doubt I have in my mind $\endgroup$– aneesh coolCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 15:52
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1$\begingroup$ The electrons don't come to you. It is only the light from them. $\endgroup$– Gurbir SinghCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 15:53
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2$\begingroup$ The electrons move inside the lightning. They move slowly, but there are a lot of them; this is what hurts. The light from the lightning, however, moves away very fast. $\endgroup$– JavierCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:21
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2$\begingroup$ @aneeshcool Light moves at 0.9997c in air, so an electron faster than that emits about 30 photons per meter in a forward cone. These hit a mirror and are focus on a photomultiplier tube (PMT)-which then convert 20% of them (hence 6 per meter in the OC) into electrons which are accelerated and multiplied in to a roughly 20 ns pulse, which is then observed on a oscilloscope or captured with an ADC for further analysis. $\endgroup$– JEBCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 17:21
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2 Answers
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Think about a piece of copper wire. It is packed with free electrons that just can't escape because if they did the protons in the copper atoms would pull them back. It's just like a pipe full of water, sealed at both ends.
Now if you push some water into one end of the pipe (which you can only do if some water can also leave the other end), which water comes out?
Is the water that comes out the same water that you pushed in? Of course not. That water moved slowly. What moved fast was the pressure wave (sound wave) that told the water at the other end to come out.
A lightning bolt is just a long wire of air that conducts electricity because it's hot. The electrons move slowly, but they can't "bunch up", so the wave of pressure (voltage) travels at its natural speed, which is very fast, but less than the speed of light.
answered Feb 23, 2018 at 16:49
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Light is what you see after the initial strike, contact has already been established by time you do see it. If that doesn't make sense think about a light bulb, the electricity gets to the light bulb and then it turn's on. Ask if you don't understand what i mean.
answered Feb 23, 2018 at 16:22
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$\begingroup$ The light comes first and then the electrons?? $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:26
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$\begingroup$ @aneeshcool Have you researched this at all? The main stroke is a lot of electrons which heat the air 50,000K (or so)--that hot air radiates all kinds of photons which make a flash. The thermal expansion of the air creates a shockwave that is thunder. $\endgroup$– JEBCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:46
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$\begingroup$ Thanks but iam not a physics student.I thought of asking here all my physics related doubts $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 16:52
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$\begingroup$ @aneeshcool, im doing about the same. But most of this i do for entries in my journal for things to exclude from my experament. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 17:01
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$\begingroup$ @aneeshcool, i was also saying that when lighting strikes contact is make with the ground before you see the light $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 23, 2018 at 17:04